Foreign Ministry's press releases

On 6 July 2023, Russia announced the withdrawal of consent to Finland to operate the Consulate General in St Petersburg as of 1 October 2023.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 2 October.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will host France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna in Finland.

Finland’s military participation in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has ended and the remaining Finnish soldiers serving in the peacekeeping mission have returned home. The mission has supported the transitional authorities of Mali to create and maintain a safe operating environment to reconstruct their country.

The Finnish Government proposes EUR 1.3 billion in appropriations for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Ministry will continue to support Ukraine in 2024, as outlined in the Government programme.

The Finnish Chef Association has published Finnish food recipes (‘Suomiruoka-reseptiikka’) to promote Finland’s country branding and food exports. The recipes will serve Finnish embassies and missions around the world and those organising international meetings and events in Finland. When ready, the material will be freely available to everyone. The material was produced under an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Finland will implement the European Commission’s guidance (FAQ) on prohibiting the import of vehicles registered in Russia.

The high-level meetings of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) will start in New York on Monday 18 September. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend ministerial events in New York and have bilateral meetings with their counterparts and with representatives of the UN. Minister Tavio’s programme will also include meetings to promote Finland’s commercial and economic interests in the New York metropolitan area.

Minister of Education Anna-Maja Henriksson will attend a virtual meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation on 13 September. Henriksson is the minister responsible for Nordic cooperation in the current Finnish Government.

The main topics on the meeting agenda will be the World Bank reform process and support to Ukraine. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will represent Finland at the meeting.